Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join my colleague, Senator Michael Comiskey, in welcoming the agreement which has been reached on funding. It is extremely important for the region.

I raise the matter of the decision of a legal practice in Dublin to act for the tobacco companies. The same legal practice has the main contract for the Health Service Executive. It is outrageous that two sets of rules are now applied by the Law Society of Ireland. There is one rule for large companies which talk about a Chinese wall separating one entity acting for the State from another acting against it. This is not possible in smaller legal practices, for which there is another rule. If a mother or a father transfers a site to a son or a daughter, the son or the daughter must use a different legal firm from that acting for the parents. There is no such thing as a Chinese wall in that scenario and it is wrong that we should have to put up with two sets of rules. As I said on a television show recently, this big company has its bread buttered on both sides and we should not tolerate this. When the contract comes up for review, it should not be renewed for this firm. The challenge to the legislation by tobacco companies will not cost the Government any money, but it will cost the taxpayer a huge amount. It is about time we stood up to this and ensured it is not the taxpayer who ends up picking up the bill. If the firm in question wants to act for a tobacco company, it should be given the option of walking away from the HSE contract, but it cannot have both options.